The specificity of RNAi and its ability to silence 'undruggable' targets has made inhibition of gene expression in T-cells with siRNAs an attractive potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of inflammatory disease, ...

Aging results in deterioration of the immune system, which is associated with increased susceptibility to infection and impaired wound healing in the elderly. Phagocytosis is an essential process in both wound healing and ...

FOXP3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are abundant in the intestine, where they prevent dysregulated inflammatory responses to self and environmental stimuli. It is now appreciated that Treg cells acquire tissue-specific ...

The mechanisms by which anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) may contribute to the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated vasculitis are not well understood. In this study, both polyclonal ANCAs isolated from patients ...

Evidence is lacking for direct pathogenicity of human anti-proteinase-3 (PR3) antibodies in development of systemic vasculitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, Wegener's granulomatosis). Progress in study of these ...

Systemic small vessel vasculitis is associated with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCAs). While there is mounting in vitro evidence to suggest that ANCAs are capable of enhancing leukocyte-endothelial interactions, ...

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are often found associated with mucosal surfaces where they contribute to protective immunity, inappropriate allergic responses, and tissue repair. Although we know they develop from ...

T follicular helper (TFH) cells are critical initiators in the development of T cell-dependent humoral immunity and the generation of protective immunity. We demonstrate that TFH cell accumulation and Ab production are ...

Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a strong inducer of inflammation and does so by inducing polarization of macrophages to the classic inflammatory M1 population. Given the role of Btk as a critical signal transducer ...

Current biomarkers of renal disease in systemic vasculitis lack predictive value and are insensitive to early damage. To identify novel biomarkers of renal vasculitis flare, we analysed the longitudinal urinary metabolomic ...

In this issue, Simpson and colleagues report a large-scale ecological study that reminds us of the importance of physical environmental factors in the development of atopic dermatitis. The mechanisms through which these ...

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin disorder. A number of genetic loci have been shown to
confer risk for psoriasis. Collectively, these offer an integrated model for the inherited basis for susceptibility
to ...

Human γδ T cells expressing the Vδ3 TCR make up a minor lymphocyte subset in blood but are enriched in liver and in patients with some chronic viral infections and leukemias. We analyzed the frequencies, phenotypes, ...

The cellular composition of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and release of cytokines by such cells within VAT has been implicated in regulating obesity and metabolic homeostasis. We show the importance of IL-25-responsive ...

The relative contribution of immunological dysregulation and impaired epithelial barrier function to allergic diseases is still a matter of debate. Here we describe a new syndrome featuring severe dermatitis, multiple ...

BACKGROUND:
Meesmann epithelial corneal dystrophy (MECD) is an inherited eye disorder caused by dominant-negative mutations in either keratins K3 or K12, leading to mechanical fragility of the anterior corneal epithelium, ...